MicrosoftPlease accept my apologies if I caused any offence by my previous replies.
There appears to be more going on than I had realised, in that I do not see what you see!
Because was increasingly using formulas displayed over multiple rows (and had developed problems with vision), I had switched my default font to Consolas 14, which applied to both the formula bar and worksheet [it also appears to be the font used by the advanced formula editor]. The result is as I have shown in the attached image (though normally without using the Aptos font).
I would not suggest that the character spacing shown in Adam's image is in any way acceptable.
My remark about 'Shakespeare and poetry' was intended to recognise that not all Excel users have an interest in formulas and numeric calculation. Some are more interested in the recording blocks of natural language and their requirements may well be different. It appears that a 'Default font for formula bar' setting might be useful. My choice of font for the Formula Editing bar will be dictated by my need to edit formulas, but what is shown in the 'Baby Plush' image is not fit for purpose.
